RILA Welcomes Bill to Reverse NLRB Decision on Ambush Elections

Arlington
,
VA
-
2/10/2015

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​In letters submitted to Chairman Kline of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and Chairman Alexander of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) offered its support for legislation that will nullify the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) rule on ambush elections from taking effect on April 14.

Kelly Kolb, Vice President of Government Affairs at RILA, outlined the damaging effects of the NLRB's new ambush elections rule on employee-employer relations and urged both the House and Senate to pass the joint resolutions immediately.

"The ambush election rule limits employees' ability to make informed decisions and subsequently increases the likelihood of inadvertent violations of employee rights by the employer," said Kolb. "Recent rules from the NLRB, including this one, are blatant attempts to circumvent Congress and enact principles of the 'Employee Free Choice Act'. Combined, they pose similar threats to individual workers, job creators and our economy as a whole."

Ambush elections limit the issues and evidence that can be presented at a pre-election hearing, restrict employer arguments to only those identified prior to a pre-election hearing, and shorten the election time frames. In addition, the decision forces employers to provide private information about their employees, a move that unnecessarily increases tensions between employers and employees.

"Absent Congressional action, the actions of the NLRB will needlessly trample privacy rights and exacerbate uncertainty for the entire retail industry and its millions of employees," said Kolb.

RILA is the trade association of the world's largest and most innovative retail companies. RILA members include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers, and service suppliers, which together account for more than $1.5 trillion in annual sales, millions of American jobs and more than 100,000 stores, manufacturing facilities and distribution centers domestically and abroad.